This invention relates to stabilizing apparatus for body-carried equipment, and particularly to such apparatus providing stable directional control.
In the art, and particularly that relating to cameras such as motion picture and television cameras that are body-mounted for mobility in the photographing of news and sporting events, there have arisen a number of control problems deriving from the weight and size of the cameras. Such cameras may weigh from ten to twenty pounds and may require as well the mounting of complex electronic circuitry in a back-pack or other carrying means upon the body of the operator; the total body loads can reach values of thirty to forty pounds. Under such circumstances, the bracing and slinging of the camera itself, for agile operation and for minimizing operator fatigue, becomes a demanding objective.
Previously, the art has provided shoulder braces of the gun-stock type for attachment to the rear of a compartatively light-weight camera, and adaptations of such a mount to include a vertical brace extending from the rear of the gun-stock downwardly to fasten to a belt encircling the waist of the operator. However, such mounts have been found generally deficient for the heavier cameras that come increasingly into use, in that insufficient provision is made for adjusting the balance of the cameras mass and retaining directional control without fatiguing the operator.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a stabilizing apparatus for body-mounted equipment that effectively maximizes control of the equipment and minimizes operator fatigue regardless of the weight of the equipment.